Sylhet: Upul Tharanga and Andre Fletcher hammered a half century each for an emphatic nine-wicket victory against defending champions Dhaka Dynamites in the opener of the fifth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Sylhet chased down a target of 137 for 1 in 16.5 overs where Tharanga and Fletcher shared an innings of 125 off 15.3 overs in the opening stand.

The brilliant opening stand was broken by spinner Adil Rashid as Fletcher was caught by Evin Lewis.

Sri Lankan left-hand batsman Tharanga played unbeaten innings of 69* off 48 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes, while the West Indian batsman Fletcher was out with 63 off 51 balls, including five boundaries and three sixes.

Sabbir Rahman added run-a-ball 2* was another scorer.

Adil Rashid conceded 31 runs for one wicket in four overs.

Earlier, sent in to bat first, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan-led Dynamites collected 136 for 7 in 20 overs spurred by the 2nd wicket stand of 54 off 6.5 overs between Kumar Sangakkara and Evin Lewis.

Sangakkara and Lewis ended their 2nd pair innings on 56/2 in 7.5 overs, starting from 2/1 in 1 overs, as the West Indian left-hander Lewis (26 off 24b; 3x4; 1x6) was caught by Abul Hasan off Sylhet skipper Nasir Hossain.

Sri Lankan left hander batsman Sangakkara top-scored 32 off 28 balls, including three boundaries and one boundary, before being caught by Abul Hasan off English pacer Liam Plunkett Plunkett on 66/3 in 9.5 overs.

After the departure of Sangakkara, Dhaka Dynamites lost their wickets in a gradual interval.

Shakib was out for 23 off 21 balls, including one boundary, before Plunkett got him on 114/6 in 16.2 overs. With the day's score Shakib fell short of six runs to reach the 1000-run mark in his BPL T20 career, starting the day's match with 971 runs from 48 matches of the last four editions.

Cameron Delport (20* off 13b; 1x6) and Kieron Pollard (11 off 7b; 1x6) were the other double digit scorers for the side.

Sylhet skipper Nasir Hossain made the 1st breakthrough in the last ball of his 1st spell, sending off opener Mehedi Maruf with duck and the all-rounder again swoop with his spin attacks to get Evin Lewis in the 5th ball of his 3rd over.

Maruf was caught by Ross Andrew Whiteley when Dhaka Dynamites collected only two runs. Lewis was caught by Abul Hasan on 56/2 in 7.5 overs.

Plunkett, Nasir and Abul Hasan captured two wickets each for 20, 21 and 24 runs, all delivers four overs apiece.